Vietnam tourism sector draws up marketing strategy

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved a tourism marketing
strategy until 2020 including a marketing roadmap on October 23.

Drawn
up by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the strategy
specifies priorities for the country's tourism, including development of
trademarks of unique and diverse products such as cultural heritage,
beaches, seas and islands, and ecotourism.

The strategy focuses on both international and domestic markets.

The
top priority markets are Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Chinese
Taipei, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The ministry
said India and the Middle East are promising markets that need to be
developed.

Marketing activities will be maintained in Western and Eastern Europe, and North America.

The plan from 2015 to 2020 will link closely with the National Action Programme on Tourism.

To
carry out the strategy, the ministry has assigned the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism to work with the Vietnam Tourism Association
and departments under the ministry, as well as provincial departments of
culture, sports, and tourism.

The Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism reported that the contribution of tourism to
the economy increased significantly in recent years.

In 2013,
Vietnam received 7.5 million international tourists, a 10.6 percent rise
over 2012, contributing 200 trillion VND (9.4 billion USD) to the state
coffer, accounting for approximately 6 percent of the country’s GDP.

Foreign arrivals in Vietnam were over 6.06 million in the January-September period, a year-on-year rise of 10.4 percent.

The
tourism sector is expected to welcome 8 million foreign and 37.5
million domestic tourists this year, grossing 240 billion VND (11.2
million USD) in revenue.-VNA